Chapter 51
Chapter 51
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Rotten Part VER.C.DAWN
-----------------------------------------------------------------
No matter how much I thought about it, Prim was clearly a guy with absolutely nothing better to do.
"Another huge stack of letters arrived, Dun."
Rihowel neatly sorted the bundle of letters that had piled up at the general store and handed them over to Dun.
Every single one was from Prim.
He'd been staying in the Daboseok World lately, dealing with Tiaryn, which had worn him out a bit. But now that he was home, Prim was making a fuss.
Dun tore open one of the stacked letters and skimmed it.
『Dun!!! The Lycus turned all the surrounding water into lava!!
Just kidding. But it is true that the water is gradually turning into lava. What's going on with you lately? You haven't been coming to the secret spot. How about dropping by sometime so we can talk about what to do with these guys' lava problem? I'll be waiting. Come anytime, day or night!』
He hadn't been visiting the land Prim had lent him much lately, since he'd been moving the monsters he'd subjugated to Daboseok.
Raising various types of monsters in limited space had been an issue, but that had been cleanly resolved once Daboseok came along.
It was a shame, since Prim had kindly lent him the place to raise them.
"I should move the Lycus and the other monsters soon."
Before Prim's place turned into a sea of flames.
Prim had brushed it off as a joke, but it had to be a real headache from his perspective.
He seemed to be planning all sorts of miscellaneous things in his secret spots, so a sea of fire would ruin that.
Dun headed out to go see Prim.
* * *
Gooo-, gooo-.
An owl's hoot pierced through the chirping of crickets. In the most secluded palace within the lavish imperial palace, a small light flickered on.
Prim lit a candle and sat at his desk, picking up a pen.
He planned to write a letter to Dun to wrap up his exhausting day.
Holding fine paper and a quill, Prim began scribbling away.
"To Dun, who hasn't replied..."
『Hey? Dun? I wanted to be pen pals with you, but since it's just me writing, only my inner closeness with you is building up. Still, I believe you're reading my letters and subtly growing closer to me too.
A lot happened today.
I got a new haircut, had some new clothes tailored, and went shopping. I thought of you and bought several outfits. Do you like frills? I got ribbon hair accessories too. Imagining it is adorable....』
"Creepy."
"!!!!"
Prim jolted in surprise, dragging a long horizontal line across the letter.
Reflexively, he drew an attack magic circle in the air and aimed it at the intruder. His startled heart pounded relentlessly.
Standing blankly beyond the drawn magic circle was Dun, with a few books tucked under his arm that looked like they'd come from the imperial library.
"Dun! You came!! I thought you were an assassin! How are you so stealthy? You could've given me a heads-up."
"You said to come anytime."
"Oh, right. You're correct. I did say that."
Prim waved his hand through the air, dispersing the magic circle. The lines rippled like waves and faded away.
Dun opened Prim's wardrobe and pulled out the pajamas Prim kept for him, changing into them haphazardly.
"There was a surveillance net spread all over outside. I didn't want to come late at night, but dodging it and sneaking in took time."
"Probably Emperor Luisa's doing."
Prim's expression hardened slightly at the mention of Emperor Luisa. Complex emotions flickered in his eyes. Lost in thought for a moment, Prim suddenly clutched his head, eyes widening as if something had occurred to him.
"Wait, Dun, did you destroy the surveillance orbs on your way in?"
"Nope."
"Good. Well done."
Prim let out a relieved breath as Dun, now in pajamas, crawled onto the bed, curled up, and lay down.
"If you destroy them, the emperor would just rack her brain for alternatives."
"Exactly. Smart guy."
"But why have the surveillance orbs increased since last time?"
Lying on the bed, Dun opened a book titled *History of the Bachinum*.
"It's about the wound you healed. Since it's fully healed, I stopped getting medicine from the imperial clinic, so she's suspicious."
Prim had been picking up medicine from the imperial clinic every month to treat the scar from Montjihel. But after Dun healed it, he stopped, and Emperor Luisa summoned him.
Prim said he'd finally developed a recovery potion through his research and that it was fully cured.
Emperor Luisa seemed pleased at first, then immediately increased the number of surveillance orbs on him.
"You should've kept getting the medicine. It'd be better for you if the emperor thinks you're on a death clock."
"I should've. I foolishly had expectations."
"Expectations?"
"That she'd be happy I was no longer on a death clock. That wound meant I was supposed to die in five years."
"I know that. But who did you expect to be happy about it?"
Dun sensed something off, closed the book, and frowned.
"Emperor Luisa."
"You're preparing a rebellion against her."
"Right."
"What the hell are you?"
Prim gave a weak laugh at Dun's sharp retort.
"It's a complicated, nuanced relationship."
"No way..."
Suddenly, it hit him: this generation's Bachinum had been adopted into the imperial family, losing the power that should have been his to the throne.
The young Prim, starved for affection and love, had accepted the initially kind Luisa as his guardian.
Dun pressed his forehead in disbelief at the absurd situation.
"Hey, you idiot!!"
"I was an idiot back then. I fell for the sweet talk of someone I thought was warm."
Tears seemed to well in Prim's pink eyes before vanishing.
He cleared his throat a few times and continued.
"There was a time I followed Emperor Luisa. But seeing her drunk on power and power-tripping her way to ruin the empire, I realized it wasn't right. Telling her she was wrong multiple times did nothing."
All he got was a bug-eyed stare.
His words held no weight, and by the time he realized he'd been played, it was too late.
Still, Prim clung to a sliver of hope. Maybe, just maybe. Maybe his foolish choice had some meaning.
He had no learning ability. He was an idiot to the end.
Prim's lips kept drooping downward.
"But the moment I said I was healed, her face hardened, and she ramped up surveillance. It cleared my mind. It was her way of confirming... so she could sort out her feelings."
"......"
Prim bit his lip briefly, then swept his bangs down over his eyes.
"Now, I can finally... become the ungrateful traitor without guilt..."
Gritting his teeth to force his lips upward, Prim shed tears. His voice trembled unusually as it leaked from his mouth.
Tadak, tadak.
The only sounds in the room were the candle's crackle and Prim's quiet sobs.
Prim didn't cry for long. He quickly wiped his eyes with his sleeve, checked the mirror, applied some powder to hide the traces, and fixed his makeup.
Dun read his book with a similarly troubled expression, saying nothing until Prim calmed down.
"Prim, did Emperor Luisa send you to Montjihel?"
"......I hate to admit it, but that's likely."
"Hey, your nose is running. Here's a tissue."
"Ah, sniff. Thanks. It's mortifying."
If Emperor Luisa was in league with the Montjihel bunch, Prim—who'd lost both power and strength—might have to face level 4, near-500 foes while preparing his rebellion.
That would be brutally tough.
"If the emperor colluded with the Montjihel guys, what do you think sparked it?"
"Monsters' natural enemy is me. Child of Promise, Child of God, Bachinum. My mission is to purify and eliminate them."
Stressed, Prim pulled a cookie box from under the bed and started shoving them in, four at a time.
"Power-hungry Emperor Luisa resented the power I got for being Bachinum, and the Montjihel monsters hated me simply for being the Bachinum threatening them. Same enemy, so they probably teamed up to bury me."
"Bachinum..."
Dun picked up the book again.
『Bachinum are beings directly designed one by one by the divine race. Every world has at least one. Bachinum develop abilities suited to their assigned world's traits and grow. Their lifespan is roughly 300-500 years.』
"Prim, can you live to 500?"
"I might not, since I've lost my power. Anyway, why are you suddenly reading about Bachinum?"
"Just."
It felt like the root of all this, and they seemed like an unknown race, piquing his curiosity.
Too focused on the book to elaborate, Dun gave a curt reply and turned the page.
『A Bachinum's mission is to aid their assigned world's cycle. They execute disruptors of order and facilitate interactions among lifeforms. Bachinum are given information-gathering tools to perform their duties correctly. Manifestations vary by world. Here, it's said the Bachinum gets info from floating parchment.』
"Prim, do you see floating parchment?"
"I did as a kid. Not anymore."
"You're a Bachinum without real powers."
"......Looking closely, that's definitely a forbidden book from the emperor's secret study. Did you steal it?"
"Huh? Steal? I borrowed it."
Dun denied it and turned the page.
『Occasionally, Bachinum made provisionally without a fixed world are discarded or reassigned.』
A new world?
Dun had just acquired a new world called Daboseok. He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.
『A Bachinum in danger can disperse power to hide. They can transfer rights to a qualifying person, but it includes the right to become 'divine race' posthumously. However, such born Bachinum are incomplete, so if rights aren't returned to the original, they die quickly.』
Dun closed the book. It was vaguely comprehensible but confusing.
"So, how's the rebellion prep going? Must be a lot to prepare."
"Your tone is funny. Rebellion prep is in full swing. Still feels hopeless, though."
Prim's numerous secret spots and thorough multi-angle preparations suggested as much.
Dun had once spotted military training near where he raised Lycus and other monsters. It seemed systematic yet a bit sloppy.
Deep in thought, Dun spoke up.
Haa, so it comes to this.
"Want help?"
"No, I'm good."
Rejected immediately.
Dun raised an eyebrow, chuckled dryly, and crossed his arms.
"Why? I'll help. Not the time to be picky about cold or hot rice."
"I've thought of everything. I'm good. I want to personally take that traitor's head. If you get involved, I'd rely on you too much."
"......Got it. Easier for me anyway."
"Thanks for understanding."
Dun eyed Prim suspiciously with a dissatisfied look. Prim brushed Dun's bangs aside and suddenly giggled.
"By the way, you said you'd never help with troublesome stuff, even if it killed you. Guess you've grown attached without realizing. My letters working their magic?"
"Fuc..."
"I'll tell Rihowel if you curse."
"......"
Dun shut his mouth and swallowed the curse.
He'd been acting like he was on death's door earlier, but cracking dumb jokes meant he was okay.
Better than moping like he was dying.
Watching Prim prepare his rebellion, Dun felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
Come to think of it, the situations aligned subtly.
Around this time, maybe. In the real world with Yi Yuhyeon, it might be underway.